Variety After several weeks of fruitless negotiations, Viggo Mortensen has left behind the male lead in "Snow White and the Huntsman," Variety's Justin Kroll reports. The Universal pic still has Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron locked in for roles as Snow White and the evil queen, respectively. Mortensen's departure is interesting for two reasons: One, it re-opens the search for the Huntsman role, and two, it lends credence to reports that Zack Snyder is eager to have the "Lord of the Rings" actor for a villain in Warner Bros.' "Superman" reboot, which will shoot at the same time as "Snow White."

Variety_JLD SWATH peeps, just to be clear: KStew and Charlize are already signed -- they're not going anywhere!

More from THR Viggo Mortensen, who has been in protracted negotiations for the part in Universal’s high-flying Snow White and the Huntsman picture, has fallen out of talks to join the project.

The movie is one of several Snow White projects in active development—and, with star Kristen Stewart and other cast members locked, the one furthest out of the gate.

Commercials helmer Rupert Sanders is making his directorial debut on the Joe Roth-produced pic, which has Stewart as Snow White and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen.

Negotiations with Mortensen have been contentious since the beginning, with insiders claiming the actor asked for $8 million as well as gross participation. The two sides were so far apart that the dealmaking collapsed at one point, allowing the actor to flirt with playing the villain role in Warner Bros’ new Superman movie.

Talks resumed, but sources now say the deal frayed away overnight. Insiders don’t know if the latest development is a death knell for Mortensen’s involvement or simply a negotiating tactic. But as of now, Universal is moving on. Read the rest at The Hollywood Reporter

From Indiewire about Mortensen bowing out of the project.
Apparently already contentious talks broke down last night and while it’s unknown if they’re completely dead, Universal and producer Joe Roth appear to be moving on. This is a 2nd blow to Uni’s ‘Snow White’ film. The first one essentially came when Tarsem Singh‘s rival “The Brothers Grimm: Snow White,” decided they could beat ‘Huntsman’ to the starting gate even though only Julia Roberts is signed on, by a full six months (‘Grimm’ is set for a June 29, 2012 release while ‘The Huntsman’ is set for a December 21, 2012 bow).